The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of both the popular 1902 Broadway musical and the well-known 1939 film adaptation. The story chronicles the adventures of a young girl named Dorothy Gale in the land of Oz, after being swept away from her Kansas farm home in a cyclone. The novel is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Its initial success, and the success of the 1902 Broadway musical which Baum adapted from his original story, led to Baum's writing thirteen additional Oz books. The original book has been in the public domain in the U.S. since 1956. Baum dedicated the book "to my good friend & comrade, my wife", Maud Gage Baum. In January 1901, George M. Hill Company completed printing the first edition, which totaled 10,000 copies. Plot Dorothy Gale is a young orphaned girl raised by her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in the bleak landscape of a Kansas farm. She has a little black dog named Toto who is her sole source of happiness on the dry, gray prairies. One day, Dorothy and Toto are caught up in a cyclone. It deposits their farmhouse into a field in Munchkin Country, the eastern quadrant of the land of Oz. The falling house kills the wicked witch of the east, the evil ruler of the munchkins. The good witch of the north comes with the grateful munchkins to greet Dorothy and gives Dorothy the silver shoes which are believed to have magical properties that the wicked witch of the east had been wearing when she was killed. In order to return to Kansas, the good witch of the north tells Dorothy that she will have to go to the emerald city and ask the wizard of Oz to help her. Before she leaves, the good witch of the north kisses her on the forehead, giving her magical protection from trouble. On her way down the yellow brick road, Dorothy frees the scarecrow from the pole on which he is hanging, applies oil from a can to the rusted connections of the tin woodman, then meets the cowardly lion, and encourages the three of them to journey with her and Toto to the emerald city. The scarecrow wants to get a brain, the tin woodman wants a heart, and the cowardly lion wants courage. All four of the travelers believe that the wizard can solve their troubles. The party overcomes many obstacles on their journey, including gaps in the yellow brick road, vicious kalidah beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers, a river, and a field of deadly poppies. When the travelers arrive at the emerald city, they are asked by the guardian of the gates to wear green spectacles as long as they remain in the city. The four are the first to ever meet the wizard. He appears to each of them as something different: Dorothy sees the wizard as a giant head, the scarecrow sees the wizard as a beautiful woman, the tin woodman sees the wizard as a terrible beast, and the cowardly lion sees the wizard as a ball of fire. The wizard agrees to help them all if they defeat the wicked witch of the west who rules over the western Winkie Country. The guardian of the gates warns them that no one has ever managed to harm the very cunning and cruel wicked witch. As the friends travel across Winkie Country, the wicked witch can see them coming. First, she sends her 40 great wolves to tear them to pieces, but the tin woodman manages to kill them all with his axe. Second, she sends her 40 wild crows to peck their eyes out, but the scarecrow manages to kill them all by breaking their necks. Third, she summons a swarm of black bees to sting them, but the tin woodman sits atop the scarecrow's extra straw that hides the other three. Fourth, she has her winkie soldiers attack them, but the cowardly lion stands firm to repeal them. Finally, she uses the power of the golden cap to send the winged monkeys to capture Dorothy, Toto, and the cowardly lion, un-stuff the scarecrow, and dent the tin woodman. This plan is successful and the survivors are carried to the wicked witch. She forces Dorothy to do housework for the castle while scheming to steal her silver shoes. The wicked witch tricks Dorothy out of one of her silver shoes and in anger, Dorothy throws a bucket of water at the wicked witch. Dorothy is shocked to see the witch melt away. The winkies rejoice at being freed of the witch's tyranny and they help re-stuff the scarecrow and mend the tin woodman. The winkies ask the tin woodman to become their ruler, which he agrees to do after helping Dorothy return to Kansas. Dorothy finds the golden cap and summons the winged monkeys to carry her and her companions back to the emerald city. The King of the Winged Monkeys tells how he and the other monkeys are bound by an enchantment to the cap by the sorceress Gayelette, and that Dorothy may use the cap to summon the Winged Monkeys two more times. When Dorothy and her friends meet the wizard of Oz again, he tries to put them off, but Toto accidentally tips over a screen in a corner of the throne room where the wizard hides. He sadly explains he is a humbug—an ordinary old man who came to Oz long ago from Omaha by a hot air balloon. The Wizard provides the scarecrow with a head full of bran, pins, and needles ("a lot of bran-new brains"), the tin woodman with a silk heart stuffed with sawdust, and the cowardly lion a potion of "courage". Their faith in the wizard's power gives these otherwise useless items a focus for their desires. In order to help Dorothy and Toto get home, the wizard decides to leave the emerald city and take them home with him, as he has grown tired of being cooped up and wants to return to circus work. He and Dorothy make a new hot air balloon from green silk. At the send off, he reveals himself to the people of the emerald city and he appoints the scarecrow, by virtue of his brains, to rule in his stead, which he agrees to do after Dorothy returns to Kansas. Toto chases a kitten in the crowd and Dorothy goes after him, but the tethers of the balloon break and the wizard floats away. Dorothy summons the winged monkeys to carry her and Toto home, but they explain they cannot cross the desert surrounding Oz. The soldier with the green whiskers advises that Glinda the good witch of the south may be able to help Dorothy and Toto get home. Dorothy, Toto, the scarecrow, the tin Woodman, and the cowardly lion journey to Glinda's palace in Quadling Country. Together they escape the fighting trees, tread carefully through China Country where they meet Mr. Joker, and dodge the armless hammer-heads on their hill. The cowardly lion kills a giant spider who is terrorizing the animals in a forest. The animals ask the cowardly lion to become their king, which he agrees to do after helping Dorothy return to Kansas. Dorothy summons the winged monkeys a third time to fly them over the hammer-heads' mountain. At Glinda's palace, the travelers are greeted warmly, and it is revealed by Glinda that Dorothy had the power to go home all along: the silver shoes she wears can take her anywhere she wishes to go. She tearfully embraces her friends, all of whom will be returned, through Glinda's use of the golden cap, to their respective kingdoms: the scarecrow to the emerald city, the Tin Woodman to Winkie Country, and the Cowardly Lion to the forest. The golden cap is given to the king of the winged monkeys, so they will never be under its spell again. Having bidden her friends farewell one final time, Dorothy clicks her heels together three times and wishes to return home. When she opens her eyes, Dorothy and Toto have returned to Kansas to a joyful family reunion. Disneyland Records Read-Along Book-And-Record Adaptation The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz was also turned into a full-length long-playing record adaptation with a radio theater-style version of the story called "The Story And Songs Of The Wizard Of Oz" created by the Walt Disney studio, it also came packaged with a giant-sized 24-page read-along picture storybook that contains many wonderful magnificent full-color illustration drawings of the Oz characters based on their original classic designs. This version is a rather basic and very simple abbreviated story adaptation that closely follows L. Frank Baum's text combined with the licensed MGM songs. The record opens with the studio chorus singing "Somewhere, Over The Rainbow", as a rather mature-sounding Dorothy introduces and tells the story. When Dorothy lands in Oz, the munchkins sing "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead!" with the additional opening lyrics: "'till one fine day from Kansas way." The scarecrow and the chorus sing "If I Only Had A Brain," while "Follow The Yellow Brick Road/We're Off To See The Wizard" plays during the journey. The lion falling asleep in the poppy field is not included so his rescue is removed, the wicked witch calls the winged monkeys while Dorothy very quickly deals with her. "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead!" is reprised when the wicked witch of the west melts. The four friends visit the wizard who tells Dorothy how to get home. At the end of the story, the song "The Merry Old Land Of Oz" plays. Caedmon Records Audiobook Adaptation Ray Bolger who played the scarecrow in MGM's Wizard Of Oz movie is the storyteller of this basic abridgement of the original novel of The Wizard Of Oz, and gives a delightful performance with little vocal gestures and chuckles for the characters: Dorothy Gale has a tone of innocence, the scarecrow has a different voice so he doesn't sound the same as he did in the movie, the tin woodman sounds squeaky, and the cowardly lion sounds like his Oz co-star Bert Lahr. Snagglepuss Tells The Story Of The Wizard Of Oz Hanna-Barbera Records released a full-length long-playing record called "Snagglepuss Tells The Story Of The Wizard Of Oz" which retells the story of the book in a radio theater-style format that includes five original songs written especially for this record, it also came packaged with a giant-sized 11-page read-along picture storybook that contains many wonderful magnificent full-color illustration drawings of the Oz characters with all-new orginal designs. The classic Hanna-Barbera character Snagglepuss does not take part in the story, but instead gives a stellar performance as he narrates a surprisingly faithful audio dramatization adaptation retelling of L. Frank Baum’s original book The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, with a few major exceptions. First off, there are no good witches, a wicked witch of the east, or silver shoes. The wizard's idea to take Dorothy home in a balloon works, so this eliminates the journey south. There are also no adventures featuring the kalidahs or the poppy field, so no queen of the field mice, either. All the friends go to see the Wizard as the big head at once. Also, the wicked witch of the west calls the winged monkeys with the whistle, and the bees were removed, while the wolves and crows are not killed, but made to flee. Dorothy makes a point of when the Scarecrow has a good idea, the Tin Woodman is kind, and the Lion is brave, so when the Wizard explains that each of them already had what they wanted, it doesn't feel so much like a cheap cop-out. The Snagglepuss script includes his abilities as a genuinely fine “actor” as he plays every male role in the entire story, which “casts” his impressions of Frank Fontaine for the scarecrow who sounds like a somewhat mush-mouthed dunce, Jimmy Stewart for the tin woodman who has has a squeaky-sounding voice, Ed Wynn for the cowardly lion who's voice is a deep humorous-sounding voice, sounding more like a clown than anything else, Charlie Ruggles to the wizard and Ned Sparks as the guardian of the gate. Dorothy Gale's voice is definitely an adult actress attempting a child's voice. Category:The Wizard Of Oz